Man shot by police for brandishing knife dies in hospital

The police received a call at 11:10 a.m. that a man brandishing knives was moving along Harju Street towards Freedom Square. Upon their arrival at the scene, law enforcement officers asked the man to throw down the knives and stop, which he refused to do. A police officer used a service weapon to stop the man and first fired warning shots in the air, after which the officer also fired one shot at the man.

The man shot by police after brandishing knives in Tallinn city center on Tuesday was an Estonian citizen without a criminal record and according to North prefect Kristian Jaani the police officer who shot the man did the right thing.

«The rescue center received the first call at 11:04 a.m. and the caller said that a man with knives was walking around Old Town. A police patrol reacted and at the same time the rescue center observed the man using public cameras,» Jaani said.

According to Jaani, the police confronted the man on Freedom Square where the man was repeatedly ordered to drop the knives, but he did not obey. When the man stated running toward police officers, a police officer fired three warning shots into the air and one shot toward the man, hitting him in the chest.

Jaani emphasized that the situation has been solved by now and nobody is in danger. He added that the man was a 33-year-old Estonian citizen with no prior criminal record.

Jaani said that in his opinion the police reached the scene very operatively and looking at a video recording of the incident, which has also reached the media, the police officer who opened fire did the right thing.

According to Jaani, when the police officers ordered the man to drop the knives, he gave no verbal answer.

According to leading prosecutor of the North prosecutor's office Taavi Perni, a criminal investigation has been launched to determine whether the man had any accomplices and whether his motive could have been connected to the state of his health, among other things.